Ocular toxoplasmosis: phenotype differences between toxoplasma IgM positive and IgM negative patients in a large cohort

Purpose: To investigate the differences in demographics and clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with ocular toxoplasmosis according to their IgM status. Methods: Retrospective case note analysis was carried out on patients who tested positive for serum Toxoplasma gondii-specific IgM antibodies (IgM+) as well as a comparator group who tested negative for serum IgM (IgM-), but positive for serum IgG. Patient demographics and clinical features were compared between the two groups to evaluate for any significant differences. Results: One hundred and six patients were included in the study between March 2011 and June 2018, consisting of 37 in the IgM +group and 69 in the IgM- group. Patients in the IgM +group were significantly older (51.1 vs 34.1 years, p<0.0001), more likely to present with central macular lesions (32% vs 12%, p=0.012), and more likely to develop rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (11% vs 1%, p=0.049). In contrast, patients in the IgM- group were more likely present with pain (20% vs 3%, 0.017) and exhibit more severe inflammation of the anterior chamber and vitreous (p<0.05). Overall, retinal lesions were more likely to be superotemporal (55%) and superonasal (31%). Furthermore, age was associated with larger (p=0.003) and more peripheral lesions (p=0.007). Conclusions: This study demonstrated significant differences in clinical characteristics of ocular toxoplasmosis according to serum IgM status. IgM+ patients were older, less likely to report pain, had lower levels of intraocular inflammation, but were more likely to have macular involvement. We also found age to be correlated with larger and more peripheral lesions

Aqueous peptide-TiO2 interfaces: iso-energetic binding via either entropically- or enthalpically-driven mechanisms

A major barrier to the systematic improvement of biomimetic peptide-mediated strategies for the controlled growth of inorganic nanomaterials in environmentally benign conditions lies in the lack of clear conceptual connections between the sequence of the peptide and its surface binding affinity, with binding being facilitated by non-covalent interactions. Peptide conformation, both in the adsorbed and non-adsorbed state, is the key relationship that connects peptide-materials binding with peptide sequence. Here, we combine experimental peptide–titania binding characterization with state-of-the-art conformational sampling via molecular simulations to elucidate these structure/binding relationships for two very different titania-binding peptide sequences. The two sequences (Ti-1: QPYLFATDSLIK and Ti-2: GHTHYHAVRTQT) differ in their overall hydropathy, yet via quartz-crystal microbalance measurements and predictions from molecular simulations, we show these sequences both support very similar, strong titania-binding affinities. Our molecular simulations reveal that the two sequences exhibit profoundly different modes of surface binding, with Ti-1 acting as an entropically-driven binder while Ti-2 behaves as an enthalpically-driven binder. The integrated approach presented here provides a rational basis for peptide sequence engineering to achieve the in-situ growth and organization of titania nanostructures in aqueous media and for the design of sequences suitable for a range of technological applications that involve the interface between titania and biomolecules

Employability and higher education: contextualising female students' workplace experiences to enhance understanding of employability development

Current political and economic discourses position employability as a responsibility of higher education, which deploys mechanisms such as supervised work experience (SWE) to embed employability skills development into the undergraduate curriculum. However, workplaces are socially constructed complex arenas of embodied knowledge that are gendered. Understanding the usefulness of SWE therefore requires consideration of the contextualised experiences of it, within these complex environments. This study considers higher education's use of SWE as a mechanism of employability skills development through exploration of female students' experiences of accounting SWE, and its subsequent shaping of their views of employment. Findings suggest that women experience numerous, indirect gender-based inequalities within their accounting SWE about which higher education is silent, perpetuating the framing of employability as a set of individual skills and abilities. This may limit the potential of SWE to provide equality of employability development. The study concludes by briefly considering how insights provided by this research could better inform higher education's engagement with SWE within the employability discourse, and contribute to equality of employability development opportunity

GA-20 oxidase as a candidate for the semidwarf gene sdw1/denso in barley

The barley sdw1/denso gene not only controls plant height but also yield and quality. The sdw1/denso gene was mapped to the long arm of chromosome 3H. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the sdw1/denso gene was located in the syntenic region of the rice semidwarf gene sd1 on chromosome 1. The sd1 gene encodes a gibberellic acid (GA)-20 oxidase enzyme. The gene ortholog of rice sd1 was isolated from barley using polymerase chain reaction. The barley and rice genes showed a similar gene structure consisting of three exons and two introns. Both genes share 88.3% genomic sequence similarity and 89% amino acid sequence identity. A single nucleotide polymorphism was identified in intron 2 between barley varieties Baudin and AC Metcalfe with Baudin known to contain the denso semidwarf gene. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker was mapped to chromosome 3H in a doubled haploid population of Baudin × AC Metcalfe with 178 DH lines. Quantitative trait locus analysis revealed that plant height cosegregated with the SNP. The sdw1/denso gene in barley is the most likely ortholog of the sd1 in rice. The result will facilitate understanding of the molecular mechanism controlling semidwarf phenotype and provide a diagnostic marker for selection of semidwarf gene in barley

Mediation in the Law Curriculum

Cited by Lord Neuberger in ‘Educating Future Mediators’ at the 4th Civil Mediation Council National Conference, May 201

Warren McCulloch and the British cyberneticians

Warren McCulloch was a significant influence on a number of British cyberneticians, as some British pioneers in this area were on him. He interacted regularly with most of the main figures on the British cybernetics scene, forming close friendships and collaborations with several, as well as mentoring others. Many of these interactions stemmed from a 1949 visit to London during which he gave the opening talk at the inaugural meeting of the Ratio Club, a gathering of brilliant, mainly young, British scientists working in areas related to cybernetics. This paper traces some of these relationships and interaction

Exploring the making of a galactic wind in the star-bursting dwarf irregular galaxy IC 10 with LOFAR

This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2018 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.Low-mass galaxies are subject to strong galactic outflows, in which cosmic rays may play an important role; they can be best traced with low-frequency radio continuum observations, which are less affected by spectral ageing. We present a study of the nearby starburst dwarf irregular galaxy IC 10 using observations at 140MHz with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), at 1580MHz with the Very Large Array (VLA), and at 6200MHz with the VLA and the 100-m Effelsberg telescope.We find that IC 10 has a low-frequency radio halo, which manifests itself as a second component (thick disc) in the minor axis profiles of the non-thermal radio continuum emission at 140 and 1580 MHz. These profiles are then fitted with 1D cosmic ray transport models for pure diffusion and advection.We find that a diffusion model fits best, with a diffusion coefficient of D = (0.4-0.8) × 10 26(E/GeV) 0.5 cm 2s -1, which is at least an order of magnitude smaller than estimates both from anisotropic diffusion and the diffusion length. In contrast, advection models, which cannot be ruled out due to the mild inclination, while providing poorer fits, result in advection speeds close to the escape velocity of ≈50 km s -1, as expected for a cosmic ray-driven wind. Our favoured model with an accelerating wind provides a self-consistent solution, where the magnetic field is in energy equipartition with both the warm neutral and warm ionized medium with an important contribution from cosmic rays. Consequently, cosmic rays can play a vital role for the launching of galactic winds in the disc-halo interface.Peer reviewe

Genome architecture and diverged selection shaping pattern of genomic differentiation in wild barley

Divergent selection of populations in contrasting environments leads to functional genomic divergence. However, the genomic architecture underlying heterogeneous genomic differentiation remains poorly understood. Here, we de novo assembled two high-quality wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum K. Koch) genomes and examined genomic differentiation and gene expression patterns under abiotic stress in two populations. These two populations had a shared ancestry and originated in close geographic proximity but experienced different selective pressures due to their contrasting micro-environments. We identified structural variants that may have played significant roles in affecting genes potentially associated with well-differentiated phenotypes such as flowering time and drought response between two wild barley genomes. Among them, a 29-bp insertion into the promoter region formed a cis-regulatory element in the HvWRKY45 gene, which may contribute to enhanced tolerance to drought. A single SNP mutation in the promoter region may influence HvCO5 expression and be putatively linked to local flowering time adaptation. We also revealed significant genomic differentiation between the two populations with ongoing gene flow. Our results indicate that SNPs and small SVs link to genetic differentiation at the gene level through local adaptation and are maintained through divergent selection. In contrast, large chromosome inversions may have shaped the heterogeneous pattern of genomic differentiation along the chromosomes by suppressing chromosome recombination and gene flow. Our research offers novel insights into the genomic basis underlying local adaptation and provides valuable resources for the genetic improvement of cultivated barley

Potential effects of oilseed rape expressing oryzacystatin-1 (OC-1) and of purified insecticidal proteins on larvae of the solitary bee Osmia bicornis

Despite their importance as pollinators in crops and wild plants, solitary bees have not previously been included in non-target testing of insect-resistant transgenic crop plants. Larvae of many solitary bees feed almost exclusively on pollen and thus could be highly exposed to transgene products expressed in the pollen. The potential effects of pollen from oilseed rape expressing the cysteine protease inhibitor oryzacystatin-1 (OC-1) were investigated on larvae of the solitary bee Osmia bicornis (= O. rufa). Furthermore, recombinant OC-1 (rOC-1), the Bt toxin Cry1Ab and the snowdrop lectin Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA) were evaluated for effects on the life history parameters of this important pollinator. Pollen provisions from transgenic OC-1 oilseed rape did not affect overall development. Similarly, high doses of rOC-1 and Cry1Ab as well as a low dose of GNA failed to cause any significant effects. However, a high dose of GNA (0.1%) in the larval diet resulted in significantly increased development time and reduced efficiency in conversion of pollen food into larval body weight. Our results suggest that OC-1 and Cry1Ab expressing transgenic crops would pose a negligible risk for O. bicornis larvae, whereas GNA expressing plants could cause detrimental effects, but only if bees were exposed to high levels of the protein. The described bioassay with bee brood is not only suitable for early tier non-target tests of transgenic plants, but also has broader applicability to other crop protection products

The curious activity in the nucleus of NGC 4151: jet interaction causing variability?

A key characteristic of many active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is their variability, but its origin is poorly understood, especially in the radio domain. Williams et al. (2017) reported a ∼50 per cent increase in peak flux density of the AGN in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 at 1.5 GHz with the e-MERLIN array. We present new high-resolution e-MERLIN observations at 5 GHz and compare these to archival MERLIN observations to investigate the reported variability. Our new observations allow us to probe the nuclear region at a factor three times higher resolution than the previous e-MERLIN study. We separate the core component, C4, into three separate components: C4W, C4E, and X. The AGN is thought to reside in component C4W, but this component has remained constant between epochs within uncertainties. However, we find that the Eastern-most component, C4E, has increased in peak flux density from 19.35 ± 1.10 to 37.09 ± 1.86 mJy beam−1, representing an 8.2σ increase on the MERLIN observations. We attribute this peak flux density increase to continue interaction between the jet and the emission line region (ELR), observed for the first time in a low-luminosity AGNs such as NGC 4151. We identify discrete resolved components at 5 GHz along the jet axis, which we interpret as areas of jet–ELR interaction